Downfalls of the Dawn
by Spookje
Summary: Femslash. Sequel to Watching the Stars. Hermione x Fleur. Reading the prequel first is recommended. Rated M for suggestive material.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I know, it's been longer than I said/thought. I apologize. My daily life doesn't quite give me the time to write like it used to. I'll do my best to keep up with updates and all, but I can say so much that it won't be very often. And it has been rather quiet with Harry Potter until now so it hasn't exactly been feeding me the HP-fever I need a bit to get inspiration to write.

Thanks for everyone who have been reviewing the prequel to this story, Watching the Stars. I hope you'll bare with me a bit longer with this one as well.

As what goes for the pace for this story it's gonna be faster than before. I'm not planning on writing a third part (or maybe I'll change my mind.. ) But the books this one goes through are at least the fifth and the sixth. Depending on what happens in the book seven I'll decide how far this story will go.

Thanks for the support everyone!

R&R

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_Dear Hermione,_

_I know it hasn't been very long since we departed but I have something to tell you. I would like to tell it to you in person, so could we meet somewhere over a cup of tea? When you know the time and location could you let me know, I'll be there. _

_Fleur_

For the umpteenth time Hermione's eyes moved across the words written on a small piece of parchment. She had written the answer back two days ago. It had been only a week since the school ended; Hermione was already missing the cool dark corners of Hogwarts' castle. The boiling hot summer air wasn't very appealing to Hermione. She found it rather hard to concentrate on anything. Hermione was lying down on her bed, holding the letter above her. It was nearing midnight; she kept the window open in the hopes of breeze of cool air. She couldn't sleep; partly because of the sweltering weather but mostly due to the set date of meeting with Fleur. She kept herself amused by counting the minutes till they would meet; her thoughts slowly wondered to the past school semester; the Triwizard tournament, Christmas holidays, the Yule Ball, late nights with Fleur…

The sound of distant alarm clock ringing slowly intruded her dreams. It took her a while to realize it was time to wake up; shoving Crookshanks off her chest she got up. She was ready in ten minutes, standing outside in the sunlight. Her trunk was packed; Mrs Weasley had asked whether she'd like to stay with them the rest of the summer. Due to an annual Dentists United conference Hermione's parents were also headed to London and promised to give her a ride.

In London, Mr Weasley was waiting Hermione with Ron and Ginny in the prearranged location. After unloading her things from the car and saying goodbye to her parents, the group started walking down the street. After a while of thinking Hermione found this quite strange; they were somewhere in London and she had no idea where nor did she know where they were headed. Ginny and Ron were talking simultaneously and Hermione had trouble keeping up with the conversation. Just when an argument was about to burst between the siblings, Mr Weasley stopped.

"Ah! This is it," he stated. Hermione looked around feeling a bit puzzled. Mr Weasley showed her a piece of parchment with an address written on it. "Read it and remember it."

After reading the lines twice, Hermione nodded. Mr Weasley set the parchment on fire, shook the ashes off his fingertips and looked around before walking to a scruffy doorway. Hermione startled at the sight of the house she hadn't noticed appearing next to her. It didn't take much time for Hermione to add things up; she soon figured out that the house was unplottable and she was burning with curiosity to know why.

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Hermione found it hard to escape from Mrs Weasley's fussing, she had to explain to her many times that she had a meeting with a friend in Diagon Alley and she was going to be late if she stayed for lunch. Mrs Weasley finally consented when Hermione promised she would eat something during the meeting. Mr Weasley suggested using Knight Bus instead of Floo Powder; he came along to show how to call the Bus and Apparated to work

Unsurprisingly the French beauty was already waiting for her to arrive. Also very unsurprisingly Hermione found herself not the only one staring at the sight in front of her. Fleur's summer attire was drawing rather lot of attention. Wearing nothing but a bikini and a skirt with flower patterns all the wizards nearby couldn't keep their eyes off her.

"Well, isn't that a sight if anything," Hermione greeted her teasingly.

"_Well_, it is very 'ot out 'ere, I couldn't 'elp myself," Fleur answered and took a step closer to Hermione. Trying to hug the girl she hadn't seen for a while she was soon groping the air inches away from Hermione's face.

"Not here, there might be people from my school," Hermione whispered and frowned.

"But it is a normal French 'abit to give a 'ug to a friend. Not doing so looks more suspicious." Fleur felt a bit aggravated.

"Well, we're not in France, are we? Stop making such a fuss about this. So, where'd you want to go with me?" Hermione said, glancing over her shoulders.

"You're ze one making a fuss about everything, 'Ermione. If you could just tell your friends that we—"

"No, I can't. Now, where do you want to go first?"

"I was thinking we could go to ze little romantic café in the corner but I suppose zat isn't ok either. I will let you to decide what place is suitable and unsuspicious."

"Can we not start a fight after five seconds?"

"It's you who 'as a problem, not me," Fleur said with a tinge of frustration in her voice.

"Florean Fortescue's then, if that's ok with you?"

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After a couple cups of coffee and some ice cream the conversation had become a lot friendlier and they had stopped fighting. Few hours later Fleur suggested a trip to her place where they could cook a late lunch. As they were walking towards the other end of Diagon Alley Hermione was window-shopping. She had decided to leave all the shopping till later summer. She hadn't even gotten her Hogwarts letter yet so there was no point buying anything in advance. She hadn't been past the Gringotts' Bank before; the Diagon Alley seemed a lot more peaceful the further they got. Fleur stopped in front of a building with three floors and opened the front door with a small key. The small studio was on the 3rd floor. There were some unpacked cardboard boxes stacked next to the front door. Fleur misread Hermione's curiosity for the boxes.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll unpack zem myself," she said when she walked past Hermione to the kitchen corner. While putting kettles on the stove Fleur felt familiar weight pressing against her back.

"I wouldn't mind helping out a bit," Hermione responded while smiling against the blonde's back; inhaling the faint odour of perfume. The earlier thoughts about distance growing between them vanished in a second. Fleur was there now, and for today nothing in the world could come between them.

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As a small note so I won't get beaten up for this; Dentists United doesn't really exist (that I'd know of)

I won't promise a date for the update, except it'll be after book seven's release.

Reviews are appreciated, in-depth or not. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all, I'm very sorry for the long delay. Work finally gave up a little and I found time to write this. I have now deliberately messed up my sleeping rhythm again. Just for you guys. :D

Be very thankful. Dammit :D

Nah, I just feel more productive at night. And I enjoy the silence.

Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter, read and review if you kindly will. Thank you. :)

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Two days later at Grimmauld's Place, Hermione was getting agitated by Ron's constant blabbering about the secrecy that had been going on in the house. When the Order's meetings took place, Ron was out of control; complaining how he should be allowed to know what was going on. Hermione knew how things were; she was curious herself too but knew better she shouldn't be involved. She, however, felt more stuck than she had ever been. Knowing she couldn't pull that many excuses to go to the Diagon Alley again (She had asked Mrs Weasley once; "It's a bit risky to wander around alone these days, your parents have trusted you with us, besides, you'll see your friend when you get back to school, dear.") so she was pacing around her room upstairs weighing her options. 

A meeting had just ended downstairs and there was a hushed ruckus going on. Apparently someone, unmistakeably Tonks, had tripped over and woken up Sirius' mother. Ginny slipped into the room, gave Hermione a look that said "You don't want to know." and went straight to bed. Hermione had a plan worked out. She'd wait until Ginny was asleep and sneak out. After what felt like hours she finally heard the familiar muffled snores from the other side of their bedroom. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Hermione changed her clothes and opened the door, hoping its creaks wouldn't wake anyone up and left. She managed to get outside, when a thought struck her; what if the Knight Bus didn't move at night. Thought was soon replaced by a memory of Harry once riding the Bus quite late so she lifted her wand hand and got on the bus.

Standing outside Fleur's doorstep she hesitated to knock. Noticing a faint light coming from the gap under the door she decided it was safe to knock without waking her up. She heard Fleur walking towards the door after she had knocked and her spirits lifted.

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Fleur had had a rather uninteresting day at work. Her thoughts were set on one particular girl who had paid her visit couple days ago. She didn't really regret moving to Diagon Alley but couldn't help feeling a bit lonely. Lots of people recognized her and greeted her when she walked around but nobody ever stopped for a longer conversation. She had noticed Bill Weasley at work who had given her a flirting smile but she didn't pay that much attention to it, he wasn't the first or the last guy who had flirted with her.

Later at night she was unpacking the last one of her cardboard boxes; she preferred to do it the slower way. She found a photo album and flipped through the pages of smiling family members and friends. Her eyes started to burn. She couldn't hold back the tears much longer so soon they were streaming down her cheeks. She had always dreamt of moving out of home but never imagined it would feel so lonely. The place where all her things were now didn't feel like home at all. It was cosy; she had to admit but still didn't have what it takes. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Fleur hurriedly wiped the tears off her face and hoped her eyes wouldn't look too puffy.

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Hermione's wide smile soon disappeared when she saw the girl who had opened the door. She knew something was wrong with her; she had obviously been crying.

"Fleur, are you ok?"

"I… I just…" she managed to say before the tears broke out again. Hermione embraced her tightly. While sobbing against the neck of her only real friend around, she added through her sobs, "I feel so…_ sob_… so lonely."

"Shh… I'm here now," Hermione whispered and stroked the blond hair. She slowly guided the sobbing girl away from the doorstep to the couch and sat down. While staring at Fleur, Hermione wished she could stay with her longer than just for the night. She knew she didn't have that much time left as it was a bit past midnight already. She'd have to get back before everyone back at Grimmauld's Place would wake up. Feeling sorry about having to leave Fleur behind she felt a tinge of guilt; Fleur probably came there because she wanted to be closer to her. She hadn't asked her to but somehow she felt responsible. She decided not to bring this subject up right now and make Fleur feel even worse. So she stayed quiet and continued caressing the girl who had calmed down a bit.

"Would you like to 'ave some tea, 'ermione?" Fleur asked after a while.

"Yeah, but I can make it; you just stay here," she said and stood up. Hermione picked up a blanket resting on the bed and covered the puffy eyed Fleur.

"_Merci._"

Hermione put the kettle on and returned to the couch. She tried to think of a careful phrase to express her earlier thoughts.

"So, er… You haven't made any new friends at work yet?" She asked cautiously.

"_Non_, but ze Weasley boy was flirting with me today," Fleur smirked.

"You were flirting with Bill?!" Hermione nearly shouted, unintentionally; she didn't mean to sound so judging.

"Oh, _non non non_, 'ow do you say; 'e was flirting but I wasn't."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's nothing new. I mean, the guys flirt all the time and especially around you, so," Hermione said trying not to sound jealous.

"I wouldn't like to play with 'is feelings nor yours, 'ermione," Fleur said seriously.

"Play with my feelings?"

"'Ermione, please. Don't misunderstand everything I say. Why do you always assume it's ze worst possible option when I say something?" Fleur felt frustrated, "I mean if I flirted with Bill you would feel 'urt. I'm right or _non_?"

"Well, yeah, that's probably how I'd feel. Though I couldn't say anything about it since we're not together anymore and you're free to flirt with anyone you want to. I've got nothing to say to the things you do," she responded feeling a bit offended. This just added to her guilt.

"I'm still very stuck with you, 'ermione. And I can't say I 'ave a problem with zat." Fleur grabbed Hermione's chin between her thumb and forefinger, turned her head and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Ze tea is ready, I think."

Hermione gave Fleur a smile and got up to pour some tea for the both of them. They then sat in silence blowing in their tea to cool it down a bit and enjoying each other's company. Hermione loved the fact that these kind of silent moments weren't awkward at all.

After finishing her cup of tea Fleur placed the cup on the floor. She waited for Hermione to finish hers and took it from her and placed it next to her own, "You know what I would like to do now, _mademoiselle _Granger," she purred as she pressed her body against Hermione's. She shrugged the blanket off and ran her fingers through the curly locks of brown hair, "It's getting rather warm inside zis blanket."

"Is it now?" Hermione asked teasingly, "I think I may have too many layers of unnecessary clothing on."

Fleur got up and pulled Hermione up and started undressing her. The heat was building up and soon they were both naked wrapped around each other on Fleur's bed.

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After a few hours of reminiscing each other's curves and weak spots, they laid cuddled and silent, letting the breathing settle down. Hermione took a quick look at the time and jumped up. She started putting her clothes back on.

"I need to get back."

"I was 'oping you would stay a bit longer," Fleur mourned; pouting.

"Sorry, but that really doesn't work now, I have lots of explaining to do if I get caught," she said with a saddened tone.

"But… I will feel lonely again. It's so empty 'ere without you."

"Fleur, please, don't blame this on me. I'm very pleased that you came all the way here, but I can't be with you every second. I'm sorry but I don't know what you expected of me. I just… If you're not happy here I understand if you go back," Hermione poured her heart out.

"Zat's not what I…"

"Are you happy?"

"Zat's not ze point. I am 'appy but…" Fleur felt perplexed at this sudden change of subject.

"If you want to stay here you need to make new friends and not sit around here doing nothing. My school starts soon, I can only visit during holidays, if even then it's possible."

"I understand zat, I just meant it'd be nice if you could stay; I know you can't."

Hermione didn't respond. There was a moment of silence, Hermione could feel Fleur's eyes burning against her back but she didn't turn to look at her.

"I need to go, see you later," Hermione said quietly. She walked straight out of the door and didn't stay to hear Fleur's response. She walked fast and didn't stop before she got outside The Leaky Cauldron to the streets of London.

The rain was starting to fall down and she noticed tears burning in her eyes. She regretted being so straightforward with Fleur but also felt a bit relieved that she got everything out of her chest.

Hermione kept walking the silent streets barely noticing the rain falling down on her. She had some sort of an idea which way she should be heading to get to the Grimmauld Place. By the time she finally found the right street corner, all her clothes were soaking wet. The rain had stopped and the glow of the morning sun was visible behind the houses at the other end of the street. Hermione sneaked in as quietly as she could and managed to reach the bedroom she was sharing with Ginny.

When she opened the door she met a sight she wasn't expecting.

Ginny sat awake staring at the soaked girl with a concerned look on her face.

* * *

Mwaaah, so yeah. As expected, again, I might not update so fast. 

Give me some time, please T-T

I'll update eventually, patience my friends, patience. -.-

reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews are appreciated and I try to answer your questions too.

(There's no such thing as review-receiving-OD…)

Thank you. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, long time no see. No worries. It's here. Finally. Go read it already. Hit the review button too if you have any comments, good or bad. :)

Thanks to all who have reviewed and everything else. I've felt guilty that I've been so inactive on this. :D So here's the result of my guilt. Couldn't bear it any longer.

*prepared for some hardcore spanking for this*

Do it. I deserve it.

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Hermione startled when she saw Ginny. This was exactly what she didn't want to happen right now. She'd rather gone straight to bed.

"Where have you been?" Ginny asked with strict tone in her voice that reminded Hermione of Mrs. Weasley when the twins had again done something inappropriate.

"I was out for a little walk," Hermione answered hesitatingly, not knowing for sure how long Ginny had been awake waiting for her.

"Little walk? Merlin knows how many hours you've been on this little walk of yours," she said, clearly a bit amused by this vague answer. "Any specific location or just wandering around?"

"Just out there, nowhere and everywhere, why does it concern you?" Hermione hoped the earlier tears hadn't left her eyes burning red and gave her away.

"Well I'm not as daft as my brothers, I know when something is wrong with you, and you've been acting quite strange for a while now. "

"That's just uh… well, there's a lot going on. With Harry and all I I've got some trouble getting sleep so I go out to clear my head a little bit," Hermione lied.

"Nonsense. You went out to meet someone, didn't you?"

"Why'd you think that?" Hermione felt a bit nervous.

"Well it's quite obvious, you look like a train wreck, which really makes no sense if you think you were only out for a little walk. And why'd you put on your favourite pair of jeans and that nice-looking t-shirt that you weren't wearing earlier today just for a little walk?" Ginny had clearly done her homework.

"Ok, Nancy Drew, you got me. I met someone, but still I'd rather not talk about it," Hermione said, giving up on making more lies that she hadn't quite thought through.

"Who's Nancy Drew?"

"Oh, never mind. I just want to get to sleep."

"Not before you tell me who'd you meet and why this late at night, makes me think it was someone special and something hmm… you-know-what happened. And then something went badly wrong and that's why you look like crap right now," redhead was clearly on to something. "And if you decide not to tell me, which wouldn't be such a wise thing to do, I'll just ask around if someone else knows something about this thing of yours."

Hermione could swear she saw a mischievous grin spread across Ginny's face.

"Fine. I give up. Just promise you won't freak out or anything."

"Why would I freak out, is he that infamous?"

"Uh, well, first of all, it's a she," Hermione said slightly cautious.

"A girl. I see," she said. There was a short silence and Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment and continued, " Well, isn't this going to be more interesting than I thought."

"So no freaking out about my sexuality and stuff like that? It's completely ok with you that I prefer the prettier gender? Not freaked out that I've been sleeping in the same room with you all these years? Though I have to say I have never thought about you that way, just so you know. You've been more like a sister I never had to me."

"Aren't you daft, Hermione? You really don't know me at all after all these years if you think I'd honestly freak out about something as trivial as this. Besides it's not that big of a deal in the wizarding world. Maybe with Malfoy and that sort, but they're so messed up anyways so you shouldn't care about what they think about it."

"Oh, wow. I had no idea. Well thanks for the support, wasn't really expecting anything like this," Hermione felt quite relieved. She was grateful now, and changed her pajamas back on. Quickly got under the covers and closed her eyes. She had to open them though when Ginny hopped on her bed and sat there arms crossed and pouting.

"And you think I'd let you off that easily? Well… Who is it?" she grinned again and had a curious look on her face.

"Well, it's really nothing. We're not even dating anymore or anything serious," Hermione muffled the words against the pillow.

"Anymore? So it used to be serious and something happened. Hmm… Do I know her?"

"Well, I suppose you've heard of her. "

"So, who is it? That girl from Ravenclaw, I heard someone talk about her and she seems to be pretty gay," Ginny started guessing.

"Uh, who? No. Not anyone from Ravenclaw."

"Oh come on, I'll keep guessing until I get it right, you could just tell me and save me the trouble," Ginny begged.

Hermione took a deep breath and whispered very quietly as if the walls had ears too. Which in that house wasn't such an absurd thing to worry about especially after the twins came up with the Extendable Ears, "Fleur Delacour."

Ginny's eyes popped out and jaw dropped on the floor. "YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH FLEUR?!"

Hermione sprung up on the bed and covered Ginny's mouth, " Oh for christ's sake keep it down, won't you?!" Ginny nodded and Hermione let go.

"But… That's like… not that bad at all. That's something to be envious about. I don't even like girls that way but Fleur's just… wow. Nice catch, Hermione."

"Just please don't talk about it like it's some sort of trophy or something, makes it even worse. And like I said, we're not going out anymore. Both of us are very single at the moment, but still…" Hermione's voice cracked and she couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

She let it all out, told Ginny the whole story and how it ended up as it had. They stayed up all night talking about it and Hermione felt a bit better now that it wasn't such a big secret anymore and she had someone to cover up on her so she could sneak out easier if she had to.

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Next morning they went down for breakfast and it was pretty empty, only the Weasleys and Sirius around. Bill also showed up for breakfast and Hermione tried her best not to even look at his direction.

"So dear brother of ours we happened to hear some wild rumours about you and some fine French girl we know," Fred teased his older brother. George demonstrated something unmistakably resembling serious mooching. Bill just grinned widely but said nothing. Hermione changed glances with Ginny who just shrugged her shoulders on it.

"Already took her on a ride, haven't you?" George said and winked at him.

Hermione stood up and headed upstairs.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Just can't stand it when you talk down on women like they're all like some cheap…"

"Ok, enough you all," Mrs. Weasley interrupted before it got nastier. "I don't think Bill's personal life concerns anyone of you," she added with a kind smile on Bill's direction.

Ginny also got up and left the table, "I'm not really that hungry, thanks for the breakfast, mum."

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She found Hermione upstairs in their room, sitting on the bed lost in her thoughts.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Uh, yeah. Just didn't feel like staying to hear any more of that," she replied quietly.

"They were just fooling around like usual. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Well, I'd think so too if it wasn't for the conversation we had yesterday with her. I'm not so sure actually what's going on between those two."

"I'm sure there's nothing going on, and if you're so unsure about it why don't you just go ask her. I bet you're worrying about it for nothing." Ginny gave Hermione an encouraging smile.

"You're right, maybe I should. I'll go tonight, will you cover up for me if someone notices I'm not around?"

"Sure, I'll figure out something."

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Hermione stood outside the building where Fleur lived, nervous for some reason. She hesitated about the whole confronting Fleur with the issue thing, but shrugged the feeling off and went in the hallway. Feeling relatively better about it already, thinking she was worrying for nothing she knocked on her door. It had only been less than 24 hours since they saw each other but it felt like eternity already. Took Fleur a while to get the door, maybe she was already asleep, Hermione thought. She felt actually quite stupid bothering her about something like this, just when they had discussed about it earlier.

Fleur opened the door and looked slightly surprised to see Hermione standing there. There was a clear view to the couch from the doorway, Fleur realized it too and tried quickly to stand in front of the way. Too late, Hermione's smile had already faded and her expression turned to hurt and anger. Bill was there, sitting on the couch and there was a firewhiskey bottle half empty on the floor.

"It is not 'ow…" Fleur managed to start her sentence.

"Well, I see how it is," Hermione cut her off, anger rushing through her veins, "but as I think I made a bit too clear for you yesterday, you're free to fuck anyone you wish to. Just thought you'd be more subtle about it and not take it so… literally."

Fleur felt like her pride had been offended, accusing her of something she hadn't even thought about doing. "Well, for your information, we 'aven't…" but Hermione cut her off again.

"I don't care what you have to say for yourself. Should've known better how it is with you and men, why did I even bother coming up here? Of course you'd be here with him, I just thought you'd have some decency to wait a bit longer before you acted."

"Decency?! _Excuse moi_, 'Ermione, I don't know what is going through your deranged 'ead but zis 'as nothing to do of what you just said. You think I sleep wiz every man I meet?!"

"I don't care. I don't want to hear any excuses. I think I've seen enough. Do as you please, it's not really any of my business anymore, is it?"

"Zat's true, it is not."

"I'm clearly interrupting something, so I'd better get going then. I think you've played with my feelings long enough. Goodbye." Hermione turned and ran off, not stopping even when Fleur called after her. She kept running until her legs gave up and she crashed on the pavement.

She didn't have any idea where she had ended up to nor did she even care where she was. All she could focus on was the feeling inside of her. Like her heart was stabbed repeatedly , something trying to pull it off from her chest. Every inch of her body shaking with anger and disappointment she just experienced. She had no idea how long she'd been there kneeling on the ground, silent and unable to cry any more than she already had. As the sun rose from the horizon and turned everything in bright orange Hermione kept staring on the ground and swore in her mind a million times she would never ever fall in love again. There was no other kind of pain she had experienced in her life that would've felt anything close to what she was feeling right at that moment.

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Oh god, I'm sooooooo sorry for this superlate update. I'll blame it on life, I suddenly had for a moment. Back to no-life mode now, except for work but that's nothing to worry about. This is actually something I enjoy doing, writing. So I guess I'll get back to it now since it felt like something was missing from my life for some time now.

And it's not gonna get better for H/F for a while, following the books to certain extent. So much I can fit between the lines in the actual original story that it'd be stupid to change the tracks at this point. But the ending will differ from what happened in the books. I was quite unsatisfied with the ending after all. Gah. No offense but the last chapter "xx years after" almost made me puke my insides out. Otherwise the last book couldn't have been any better. I did really enjoy it as a whole and though there were some minor things that in my opinion didn't get the closure I was hoping for it was still amazing how JK had really thought about the plot from the very beginning.

I'm also quite pissed how they postponed the schedule for the next movie. Though I prefer books way over the movies, there are some scenes I'm dying to see on screen. With my luck they never put them in the movie but it's worth the wait anyways. :)

Let me know if I lost the touch on this story, or whatever thoughts you have on it. Reviews are my only reason to keep on going. Well, posting these out at least. I don't think I'd quit writing though…


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I know, I know, I know… there will be blood and tears. But I made it, didn't I?

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Hermione awoke from her thoughtless state when something sharp was hitting her cheek repeatedly. She turned her head to see what caused this abrupt interruption. Pigwidgeon was sitting on her shoulder. She had a note attached to his leg. He seemed relatively pleased by the fact he had managed to find Hermione and deliver message successfully. Hermione gave him a small pet on his head, took the message and shove him off.

"Go back, I'll be there later, ok, Pig?" she talked to the owl with a soft tone.

Pig spread his little wings and flew off.

_Hermione,_

_I don't know where you're at but I figure if you're reading this Pig has managed to find you. We need you here ASAP, Harry is coming tonight and they're not buying my excuses anymore for your absence. Mum is worried sick about you, I told her to calm down and that I'm sure you're ok. Are you? Please hurry back, I will make sure nobody bothers you about this too much if you prefer to spend some time alone. _

_Ginny_

Hermione managed a weak smile, feeling relatively better than just a moment ago. Harry was coming too, which meant she had more support on this, she was sure he'd understand. She got up on her feet, looked around to see where she was. It was some kind of a park, quite large with a little pine forest at the other end and a small pond few meters away from where she was standing. The sun was up and Hermione looked at her watch to see it was already midday. She cursed herself for spacing out like that, of course Mrs. Weasley would go nuts on her if she had been out all night. It wasn't going to get any easier if she stayed there longer, so she started walking towards some houses in the other end of the park. When she reached the road, she lifted her arm and the Knight Bus came a second later.



She ran into Tonks when she got into the hallway of Grimmauld Place Twelve. No one else was around, but there were sounds and voices coming from the kitchen.

"Dang it, Hermione! You look like… well… what's going on?"

"Erm, no time to explain, see you later," and she rushed upstairs to her bedroom.

She closed the door as quietly as possible to not to draw any unwanted attention to herself. She quickly tidied herself up and changed clothes. She went to the little bathroom at the end of the hallway and washed her face. She cursed her age because she couldn't use magic to cover the signs of the night before.

There was a knock on the door.

"Hermione, are you in there?" it was Ginny.

"Uh, yeah, just a second," she took a quick glance at the mirror, straightened her hair and opened the door.

"Wow, you look actually quite decent this time," Ginny said with a grin.

"Oh, cut it out. So what's the big fuss about, there seems to be a lot of people downstairs. Something to do with Harry?" Hermione asked. She had decided to put her own problems aside for a while, concentrate on what was going on around her.

"Yeah, seems like Harry used a Patronus to get rid of some Dementors," she explained.

"Dementors?! In Little Whinging?"

"Yeah, it appears to be so, from what dad told us this morning it seems like the ministry is denying any accusations of Dementors being in there. They're mental if you ask me, bunch of stinking moldy…"

"Yeah, I get the point. Where is Harry?" Hermione cut Ginny off.

"Well, still at Privet Drive but I suppose they're going to get him out of there pretty soon," Ginny kept explaining.

They were so focused on the ongoing conversation that they didn't notice Ron appearing behind their backs. Hermione startled a bit when he started talking.

"And where do you think you've been all night? We were worried sick about you, especially mum. Blaming us for not looking after you enough," Ron said.

"I haven't been out all night. I just got up really early for a walk, needed some fresh air," Hermione lied.

"But Ginny said…" Ron started but Hermione cut him off,

"Well, Ginny didn't know where I was, did she? She was still asleep when I left."

"Right," Ron said with disbelief in his tone, "Do you really think I'm so daft I'd believe that?"

"Honestly, Ron, yes. I do," Hermione said feeling irritated. "Now could you just get off my back already, it's none of your business."

"Who is he then?" Ron continued questioning her, "Viktor Krum?"

"Oh, yeah, Ron. That's it. And I just suddenly flew to Bulgaria or where ever he lives in just few hours and came back. And you seriously wonder why I think you're so daft?" Hermione nearly shouted. Ginny watched this quarrel slightly amused.

"Uh, I guess. Though there's nothing stopping him from coming over here to see you," Ron continued.

"Just get it, Ron, it's not Viktor. Ok?" Hermione argued back. Ginny felt like it was about time for someone to interrupt their fighting.

"Hermione, forgive my brother for being such an arse, let's just get downstairs to get you some breakfast. I think they're about done by now, I heard people leaving already." Ginny grabbed her shoulder and led her downstairs.

Tonks was just coming out of the kitchen when the three got there. She raised an eyebrow at Hermione but said nothing.

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"…so this means none of you leaves the house without escort. We can't risk any one of you facing a situation where you'd have to use magic. And no sneaking out at night, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley lectured Hermione and the rest.

"But I just took a walk!" Hermione defended herself.

"Well, then no more walks by yourself at night," she added.

"Fine," Hermione said stiffly and stormed out of the dining room. There was no reason to go out to meet Fleur anymore, she felt like bursting into tears again but held it back.

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Days went by and Hermione was getting a bit anxious; she didn't really want to leave things as they were with Fleur, but certainly didn't want to be the one to make the first contact. Her answer came eventually, delivered by no other but Bill himself. After a nice family dinner with some members from the Order, Bill caught up with Hermione in the stairways.

"She asked me to give you this," Bill said and smiled pleasantly. Hermione gave him a suspicious look, but took the letter he was holding in his hand, "and I must apologize, this confusion happened because of me. I did not know about the situation between you two and I had no intention to hurt anyone, 'kay, Hermione?"

Hermione gave him a small nod and disappeared upstairs to her room. She sat on the bed with the letter in her hands; not sure whether she wanted to open it or not. Ginny came in and Hermione asked her to open it and read it, then tell her if it was worth reading. After a few minutes she returned the letter to Hermione.

"You might wanna read this, " she said with a small grin.

_Hermione,_

_I've been thinking a lot about things past these days we haven't seen each other. I realized just how much it means to me to have you in my life, no matter how stubborn you are always to doubt me, I only have myself to blame for the reputation I have. I miss your laughter, the way you talk about things like history with that child-like enthusiasm and the sweet scent of your hair and all the little noises you make when you sleep. I don't want to spend another night rolling in my bed without being able to sleep while thinking how much you must hate me by now, the wrong thoughts you're having about me and Bill. I also realize I cannot share my life with you right now and thinking about it almost kills me. I have my stupid pride and all, I know I said some things wrong when you came by here. I just want you to know how much you mean to me; I would give anything just to be with you right now, if there is any way you can meet me just let me know and I'll be waiting. If I get no response to this letter, none at all I take it as I never meant much to you, since I know if you ever cared for me you'd give me any sort of reply. _

_Fleur_

"Uhm, Ginny? I think I might need your help again. I promise I'll be back before dawn, just tell them I'm not feeling alright or something, ok?" Hermione pleaded.

"I knew you'd say that, sure thing. I got you covered. Might wanna ask Harry's assistance too though, the Invisibility Cloak wouldn't do any harm," Ginny said and grinned widely.

Few moments later she had the cloak on and was heading to entrance hall. Bill was just walking across the hall about to leave, she walked right behind him when he opened and closed the front door. When they were out on the street he spoke out. Hermione startled a bit not realizing he had noticed her presence.

"Good luck."

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She stood there in front of Fleur's apartment door for a while. Not sure what she should say to her when she would come to open the door for her. She decided to just see where things lead, took off the cloak and knocked on the door. It took a while but Fleur eventually opened the door and looked mildly surprised to see Hermione standing there. Neither of them spoke and there was a long awkward silence. Fleur looked like she was going to say something but she couldn't get a word out of her mouth. Hermione broke the silence.

"May I come in?"

"_Oui_, of course," Fleur said and moved out of the way.

Once inside Hermione realized she hadn't really answered anything to Fleur's letter yet, that's why Fleur was so quiet. She pulled Fleur by the arm and embraced her. No words were needed at that moment; they both knew what was happening. This would be the last night for a long, long time.

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Ok, fellows. This is it.

For a while again.

Bare with me.

I'm slow, I know.

Reviews are highly appreciated. Kthanxbye. :3


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